Commandos rescue four children trapped in Pakistan chairlift after cable snaps

Army commandos in Pakistan have rescued four children from a stranded chairlift where seven children and one teacher had been left hanging 274 metres (900ft) above a ravine after a cable snapped.

The children, stranded since 7am local time (0200 BST), were using the chairlift to get to school in a mountainous area in Battagram, about 125 miles (200km) north of Islamabad.

A rescue agency spokesperson and a district official confirmed the rescue of the first two children, which had taken place in difficult conditions in high winds.

A video of the scene showed someone strapped into a harness swinging from underneath a helicopter as crowds cheer in the background.

Commandos could be seen on local TV trying to lower themselves on ropes from the helicopters toward the cable car. An expert said the rescue was incredibly delicate because the wind created by the helicopters’ blades could further weaken cables holding the car aloft.

Relatives of those trapped prayed while watching the operation unfold and anxious crowds have gathered on both sides of the ravine, which is several hours from the nearest main town. The rescue has transfixed Pakistanis across the country who crowded around televisions in offices, shops, restaurants and hospitals.

“For God’s sake help us,” Gulfraz, the adult stuck in the cable car, had earlier told the Pakistan television channel Geo News by phone.

Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority said in a statement that a cable had broken and an army helicopter had been dispatched after attempts to fix the fault had been unsuccessful.

The open chairlift became stranded halfway across a ravine and was hanging by a single cable after the other snapped, Shariq Riaz Khattak, a rescue official at the site, told Reuters.

People who live in the northern mountainous regions of Pakistan often use chairlifts for transport from one village to another.

Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, expressed his concern in a post on Twitter. “I have also directed the authorities to conduct safety inspections of all such private chairlifts and ensure that they are safe to operate and use,” he said.

Reuters, Associated Press and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report